CHAPTER 25

Earth

2027

 

Theo plastered his hands against the table and studied the pictures below him. The conversation with Vehru's replica had put the entire world into an intelligence lockdown. They'd had to go old school, very old school, and now lived under the rule of paranoia. Could the Replica hear them? What did she know? It wouldn't be possible to keep everything from a super intelligent AI, but they had to try their best.

"I think they're posing for a picture," Theo said and tapped the triangular flying object. "We've never had such a perfect image as this."

"We don't pay you to speculate on what they're doing and why. Talk science." General Price was in a worse mood than normal.

"Someone has to say it," Theo whispered. "You're all thinking it. Vehru, her Replica, whoever is doing this wants us to see what we're up against. It's a threat."

Price's nostrils twitched. "Do you have anything useful to share?"

"This is not my expertise. You know that. Why am I really here?"

Ordinarily, Theo would hold his temper better and remain patient. These were not ordinary days. The very marrow of his bones buzzed with stress. He could hardly sleep at night. And he hadn't had an update on his wife in two days. Since so little was known about the control that the Replica of Vehru had over Rory's mind, the government decided to limit the information she had access to, in case there was a way to monitor her thoughts. When Theo was called upon, he had to leave Rory behind at home. The last thing he wanted was to be away from her with all of this happening, especially when he couldn't even talk to her on the phone for fear of his location being tracked or his conversation monitored.

"President Saito trusts you. You're a smart man. We have plenty of expert opinions. But you're in a unique position as Rory's husband and as someone who has the highest level of security clearance."

"Exactly why you should listen to me when I say they're sending a message."

"I know." His voice lowered. "I assure you that we're aware and dealing with it."

"The incidence of UFO sightings have increased, but they're not new. What's new is that they're letting us get an abundance of data on them. You've had no success in shooting one down. We're outmatched. They probably want us to surrender before the war even starts."

"Well, that's never happening."

"What's telling is that they're tipping their hands on the flying objects but not on how the AI has infiltrated all of our systems while evading detection. It's all strategic." Theo stared at the image of the craft flying up from beneath the ocean. "So, where are they coming from?"

"We assume space."

"But you've considered other possibilities."

The general's jaw tightened.

"The ocean," Theo said. "They could be being stored or even manufactured down there. The pressure they'd have to operate under…" He closed his eyes. "Whether they're coming from our oceans or our skies, it's clear this is a threat we are not prepared to face. We need to get our hands on one."

"We're trying."

Theo turned away from the pictures. "Can you just be honest about why I'm really here? Are you trying to separate me from Rory for a while?"

Unreadable eyes met him. The general could hold his emotions back expertly well, but Theo had learned to read him through this. The more stoic the man was, the more unsettled he felt.

"Why?" Theo asked.

"The things she's remembering are very stressful for you. It may help her to have time to remember alone, when she isn't worried about how it'll affect you."

"You should have been honest about it."

"We really do want your thoughts and we can't discuss it any other way than in person and in a room we know is safe. But we do need Rory to be alone for a little while."

He tried not to feel the frustration of being manipulated because if he let himself dwell on it, he'd get himself too worked up. "Well, show me the rest."

"We're working on creating secure connections that we know the Replica cannot access. We still cannot find any trace of her, though. She's a ghost."

"So there's no way of knowing if it's really secure."

"There's not even a way of knowing if this room is secure."

Theo nodded. "The way she accesses a network could be something we've never even thought of." Fear coursed through him constantly, but sometimes a sharp spike of panic pierced his chest. "How are we supposed to defend against them?"

"Don't." The general squeezed his shoulder and spoke with such confidence that Theo couldn't help but trust him. "There's always a way. We believe that no matter what happens, because otherwise, our defeat is certain."

He breathed in sharply. "Okay. Yeah."

The general walked him through new working theories about the nature of Rory's people and their capabilities. Work always managed to distract Theo, so eventually his heart and mind felt numb to everything except the problems right before him.

"We've spent the last decade preparing for every scenario we can imagine," the general said. "We have contingency plans for all-out war, with plans ranging from wide-spread nuclear level assaults to mass poisoning of water. What we can't prepare for is the unknown. So we need people like you to think again about what we could be missing. The entire world has to come together on this."

"I will speak up about any theories that come to mind."

"Especially if something Rory says gives you an idea. You get that information to me immediately."

By the time the sun set, Theo had returned to his hotel room. In the quiet, while completely alone, the problem-solving disappeared from his mind, the science seemed irrelevant, and there was nothing to quiet what had been screaming inside of him for the past two weeks since Rory had recovered her first memory.

They'd never have another normal day again.

For so long it hadn't seemed possible to have normal days. Rory had changed the world forever when she arrived. Then time passed and they made a life together. Closing his eyes, he remembered the last time they'd spent a night alone together before this chaos had started again. He'd sat on the couch with Benji curled up next to him. Rory leaned against the armrest with her feet on his lap and a controller in her hands. She bit her lip as she played her game.

Theo had looked up from the study he was reading and smiled at how beautiful her eyes looked when she focused.

It had been entirely normal and uneventful. But he would give anything to have it back.

An ache spread over his shoulders as he lowered himself to the bed, feeling so heavy and tired. Those days were not long gone, but they felt more and more distant. It had been him and Rory and the dogs. Now he shared Rory with a man he didn't know. There was a child missing his mother. The life Rory once lived felt real now.

He covered his eyes, too exhausted to tear up about it. Theo had meant it with all his heart when he told Rory he would help her find the family she lost. But it had ripped his heart from his chest. While she'd had another life, another world, another love, Theo had only ever had her. Never had he loved anyone else. The thought of losing his best friend and the woman who felt as much a part of him as his own heart terrified him.

Nevermind the other thoughts that flowed uncontrollably through his mind. He'd never felt insecure about their relationship. They got along so well. Theo absolutely knew Rory loved him deeply. Thinking about her marrying another man, though… Theo couldn't wrap his mind around it. What if she loved the other man more? What was this stranger like?

He wrestled with his thoughts until he knew he had to find something else to do or risk losing it. Theo longed to call Rory and hear her voice.

Instead, he started researching the deepest depths of the ocean and compared them to maps of UFO sightings.

#

After five days away from home, Theo finally walked through his front door. While everything looked the same, it felt entirely different. He knew there were soldiers somewhere in the house, guarding Rory. Or holding her captive. Did the difference matter anymore when they'd truly lived this way for so long?

"Rory," he called out. Quiet met him. Where were the dogs? They should have already come bounding around the corner to jump on him.

After a few seconds, a young soldier he didn't recognize walked out. "Hello, doctor."

"Where's my wife?"

"She's in the lab."

"The lab?" Theo narrowed his brows. "My lab?"

"No, her lab."

"Rory doesn't have a lab."

He breathed in deeply. "Well, sir, it seems she has a lab now."

"What the…" Theo looked around. "Where are the dogs?"

"She's been sleeping there, so I believe they're with her."

He ran his hands over his eyes. "Can you please direct me to where I can find my wife?"

After stumbling over an apology, the private ushered Theo to another soldier who seemed capable of more than just watching an empty house. Five minutes later, he entered one of the storage units at the base and stopped in the doorway. Everything had been cleared out and replaced with security stations for the soldiers around the perimeter. Rory worked with her back to him in the center of the room, surrounded by–what was all this? It looked like someone had dropped scrap piles all around the room.

"Rory?"

She rose and froze for a moment, before turning around. "Theo."

The smile easily came over his face even though he felt so weary. He rushed to Rory and caught her when she threw her arms around his neck, clinging to him as if they'd been separated for years. Her hold on him was tight.

He held the back of her head. "Did you remember more?"

She nodded.

"It's okay. I'm here now."

He drew back to see her face and wiped a stray tear from her cheek. "You want to tell me?"

"Not yet." Her eyes looked sunken in, like she hadn't slept in days. "I will. First, I need to show you something."

Rory took his hand and led him to the large table where she'd been working.

He straightened as he looked down on the small discs littering the table and then glanced to the welding tools. "What is this?"

Unfocused eyes shifted up to him, like her mind was torn between here and elsewhere–wherever elsewhere might be. She pushed her disheveled hair back from her face. "I used to make these. Or maybe I fixed them. Something like that."

He picked up one of the circular metal discs and ran his finger along a tiny needle at the center and the hint of silver wires feeding into it. "What do they do?"

Rory hesitated, the look on her face pensive. Then, she drew in a deep breath and placed the disk to her palm. As soon as the needle touched her skin, it plunged into her hand. She grunted as the disc smoothed against her palm.

Theo opened his mouth but couldn't speak. Rory lifted her palm between them, brows furrowed in concentration.

"Watch," she whispered.

White light sparked and glowed around the disc, until a small ball of it formed in her hand, crackling like electricity.

"Oh my god." Theo couldn't breathe.

"This can do so much more." Rory closed her hand and the glowing ball disappeared. "I don't remember yet, but I know it's very powerful."

"Is it a weapon?" Theo asked, even though the answer seemed obvious.

"A weapon. A tool. It feels like a way of life."

He reached toward the disc in her palm but hesitated. "Has anyone else tried to wear it?"

"Not yet. I don't know how safe it is. Maybe there's something special that allows me to use it." Rory stepped forward and looked deeply into his eyes. "Listen closely, Theo."

And he did. Had to.

"I'm going to teach you how to make these. The government will want it, but we don't know how introducing a technology of unknown potential will affect the world, or how it'll be used. So we're responsible for that. This could help Earth protect itself. But it could be used for something horrible too."

"You're right."

"We're going to learn the weakness of these devices too. We're going to make sure this helps the world and doesn't hurt it."

Theo slid his hand over his cheek. "What else are you not telling me?"

Pain shone through the tears in her eyes. "I saw these in my husband's hands. My first husband…"

"It's okay. Just talk, Rory."

"I can't remember him, but I can see him from behind holding our baby, and I remember him reaching for me with these on his hands. Only it had more parts. It wrapped around to the front like silver vines." Rory rubbed her throat. "I think he's a soldier and that's why he has these."

Hearing her talk about the other man made him feel more real. "And you know how to make them."

Rory dislodged the disc from her hand with a wince and set it on the table, eyes on the ground. "I'm dangerous, Theo."

"People can use weapons to hurt or to defend. I told you that once before. I'll tell you every day if I have to."

"They approved me working on this because they want the technology and want me to remember. But I can't blindly be handing weapons over to people. I can't wait on Vehru to let me access my memories either. This isn't working."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Vehru sent me here. I have to talk to her."

"That seems dangerous."

The look in Rory's eyes reminded him of long ago when she'd told the general to get the enhanced interrogation over with. As kind and trusting of a woman as she was, sometimes darkness flooded her eyes, along with the kind of resilience born of that darkness. He felt like he was looking at a different person entirely in this moment, but he recognized the hints of her he'd seen through the years.

"Vehru stole me from my family and stranded me on an alien planet with no memory. Now she's threatening this place that has become my home. It's time for her to answer to me."

For the first time, he realized he truly didn't know who Rory had once been or what she was really capable of.

Just as he was about to ask her how she thought she'd manage forcing Vehru to talk to her, the door of the storage unit opened. A smile lightened the hardness of Rory's face.

"They're back from their walk."

Theo twisted. The dogs barked as they both started to sprint toward him, their nails scratching against the concrete floor and tails wagging wildly. Theo knelt just in time for both of them to jump on him.

"I'm home," he said and grabbed them close. "We won't let anyone hurt you."